


lovers need nothing more, just a new dream each day

by roseandthorns28



Series: dream each day [1]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-05-12
Packaged: 2018-03-29 14:57:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3900499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseandthorns28/pseuds/roseandthorns28
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From their first to the last dream Arthur and Eames shared together;</p><p>  a love story unfolding through a series of dreams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	lovers need nothing more, just a new dream each day

The first time they are in the same dream, Eames dreams up a Victorian masquerade ball and it takes a good hour- dream time- for Arthur to find him. It doesn't make him less inclined to shoot him in the end. 

The first time they argue is shortly after that when Arthur points out the impracticality and uselessness of that dream scape and Eames says something to the effect of, 'have a little imagination, darling'. (Incidentally also the first time Eames calls him that) 

The second time they're doing the actual job and he is glad the dream has been toned down to a simple office party- still a masked event- and Eames' paradoxical qualities help the forger make the list of people Arthur would work with again (his resourcefulness) but never search out for a job (his personality- everything about it from his taste in clothes to his annoying Britishisms, to his patronising pet name). By the end of the job, Arthur is down one moleskin and up one contact. 

 

The second time they do a job together, Eames has already met Mal and despite their pretend animosity ("I can't be seen consorting with a Brit. It's offensive, non?" and a similar "ah but it's natural animosity, innit? It's all her fault anyway." from Eames) they got on like a house on fire. (Incidentally also the first time he's heard such an exaggerated accent from either.) Their nationalistic tendencies don't stand a chance against their mutual love of art and Edith Piaf. This in turn makes him that much more insufferable for Arthur. 

The first time Eames kisses him in a dream, he hastily precedes it by a "The projections are getting antsy" and then follows it up with a rueful grin and a "It was worth a shot" before he pulls out a semiautomatic and rushes away. It's also the first time he leaves Arthur speechless but certainly not the last. 

 

The first time Arthur and Eames face off against each other in a dream, they are hired by different people for the same mark. The whole debacle causes Arthur to revise his opinion of Eames and put him squarely in the column of people he wouldn't work against. It's a short list- only three names on it so far.   
The second time this happens, they both leave the job. 

 

The first time Eames shoots Arthur in the head is also the first time Arthur thanks him. He starts a new list- worst ways to die- and mustard gas is the first entry. 

 

The first time Arthur sees Eames outside a job, he runs into him in Paris, the latter singing Disney songs under his breath as he works on a crossword sitting outside a cafe. They both pretend not to know each other and Arthur has 'Be a man' stuck in his head for the next week. It's the second time Arthur plans a long drawn out assassination attempt on the forger. 

The third time Arthur contemplates murdering Eames, the forger is underground; hiding after he stole from the wrong people. It’s the first time Arthur lets someone use one of his safe houses. To this day, he isn’t sure why he did that, but he is glad he did. A dead forger isn’t useful to anyone is how he justified it at the time but it wasn’t the first time Arthur made an exception for Eames.

The first time he makes an exception for Eames, it’s their fourth job together and Eames turns up late for the second time. Arthur lets him go with a stern warning. The architect isn’t the only one surprised. Arthur simply throws himself into his work so as not to think about the paradox that is Eames.

The first time Arthur associates the word paradox with Eames, he is working as a consultant on a fairly green team. It’s the first but certainly not the last favour he does Dom. For the first time, he isn't running point on a job so he mainly just supervises and makes sure everything runs smoothly. It's the first time he sees Eames in his element as a thief when he takes the extractor under his wing and explains the minute nuances of a successful extraction. 

The first time he shouts at Eames and the first time Eames steals something for Arthur happen at the same time. The job falls apart because of inexperience (the extractor) and unpreparedness (the point man). Arthur is annoyed after having been torn apart by projections then punched by the mark. It's the first time he looses his cool and jumps down Eames' throat- the closest target available. 

It's the first time Arthur is the only one in contact with the client, so he gets the heat for a job left unfinished. Two days later Arthur receives the desired information in a USB drive along with a bouquet of hyacinths. He throws the latter away and sends the former to the clients.

The second time Eames sends him flowers they're white lilies and Arthur would have assumed they were for the man who lost his wife if it weren't for the tiny card that said 'Arthur, I'm sorry about Mal. She was lovely,' in Eames' loopy handwriting. 

The first time Arthur reneges on a job, he takes the first flight to the States. The first time that 'Arthur' cries is incidentally also on the same flight. 

 

The first time Arthur realises he might be into Eames, he is working a job with Dom and and an English architect. The first thing Arthur thinks when he hears Mark call his name is that it sounds much better coming from Eames' mouth.   

The first time he dreams about Eames, he calls the chemist he'd just done a job with and cuts his pay a substantial amount for the faulty batch of somnacin. 

The first time he sees Eames' projection in his dream, he is doing a practise run with Dom. Luckily or unluckily, another more dangerous projection diverts his attention from the fleeting glimpse of the forger. It's the first time Arthur freezes in a dream and Dom is the one that shoots him awake. 

 

The first time Eames asks him out, Arthur falters, unprepared. So, he rolls his eyes, tells him to stop joking and that the forger will receive his money within the next 24 hours before leaving the station.

The first time Arthur lets his heart be broken he goes by his birth name- Arthur not having been created yet. He stays in bed for days, falling into a cycle of self-blame and self-pity.  It takes him some time to realize how weak being in love made him, how susceptible to pain.

The next few times, he stops himself from falling too deeply, from loving too much and he succeeds. None of his other relationships have much of a hold on him after that. He falls out of love more than he falls in love.

The first time he uses the name ‘Arthur’, he is running from the military and into the arms of the underground dream share community.

The next time he meets someone he likes, they’re married and happily so. He ends up falling in love with both their minds, the romantic love not figuring into the equation. It’s then that he decides that Arthur is too busy to form such attachments.

The last time he falls in love, he doesn’t fall out of it.

The first time he gets his heart broken by Eames, it’s his fault and this time there’s no doubt about it.

The last time Eames asks him out, they're winding down in a bar in London after a particularly hard job. Arthur downs his drink, tells Eames to get the tab and leaves. Eames doesn't follow. 

The first time Arthur asks Eames for a drink, Eames looks at him for a minute with a blank face before he tells him he has other plans. 

 

The last time Arthur and Eames dream together is inception. Eames disappears, leaving the dream share world altogether.

  
It's the first time Arthur has nothing to go on but rumours regarding him doing the rounds amongst the rings of thieves- dreamsharing or otherwise-  but it's not the first time the rumours are severely lacking in content.

 

It's not the first time job offers fall at his feet, especially after his name being associated with the 'something big' Cobb and his team have done, but the first time he actually considers rejecting them for something more long term. 

The first time he calls someone after gaining legal employment, the call is to Dom. He gives him his new cell number and asks after the children. 

The first time he calls up Eames from his official, legitimate number, the forger doesn't pick up. It's the first time Arthur apologises to Eames but definitely not the first time he offers him a job. It's the second time Arthur does something about the limbo their relationship is in. 

The first time someone knocks on Arthur's new shiny apartment door, it's Eames and Arthur lets him in. 

**Author's Note:**

> the title is taken from the song Heaven have mercy by Edith Piaf. 
> 
> my tumblr is roe-sesandthorns.tumblr.com come say hi. :)


End file.
